Family Secrets

Implications for Theory and Therapy

Most families have secrets, handed down from generation to generation like "booby-trapped heirlooms" waiting to explode. Secrets have far-reaching implications for families, setting the stage for a tense emotional climate of guardedness, anger, and reactivity.

In this illuminating video, Evan Imber-Black, an expert on rituals, larger systems, and family secrets, speaks to viewers about the implications of secrets, and presents techniques for ushering families through the process of identifying, understanding, and resolving secrets. Imber-Black leads a moving series of reenacted family therapy sessions to illustrate the important stages of helping families to uncover their shrouded pasts.